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Monday, March 22, 2010

Cook County Forest Preserve Stewards Mini-Conference

On Saturday, I attended a stewards' mini-conference at Cook County Forest Preserve headquarters. This is a beautiful old arts and crafts-style buildng on Harlem Ave. just north of Lake in River Forest. I had been invited by Victor and Jean Guarino, the stewards of Thatcher Woods (along the Des Plaines River), with whom I've worked for years, chopping buckthorn, pulling garlic mustard, and celebrating the beauties of our riparian woodland/prairie/savanna landscape.

The room was full of casually-dressed people, most of whom looked like they spend much time out of doors in all weathers. I favor gatherings at which the preferred attire includes hiking shoes and the conversation centers around bird monitoring, conservative plant species, and burn regimins. This one met my expectations; my working group discussed the pros and cons of photo vs. transect monitoring, and how to access information from various monitoring groups such as Audobon and the Habitat Project for use in restoration activities.

I came away newly impressed by the level of dedication and commitment that the stewards display in their volunteer work of managing the wild areas of the Chicago Wilderness region, especially in the face of all the environmental threats we suffer, from global warming to over-development.

We gardeners can learn a great deal from these dedicated folks who put the health of our eco-system and all its creatures ahead of so much else. We can look at our gardens with new eyes, and ask ourselves how best to knit our backyards back into the ecosystem, and by doing so, help repair and nurture the health of the land.

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Gardening

And, as it works, th' industrious bee Computes its time as well as we.How could such sweet and wholesome hoursBe reckoned but with herbs and flowers!Andrew Marvell, "The Garden"

Reconciliation Ecology

...We can stop most [species reductions] by redesigning anthropogenic habitats so that their use is compatible with use by a broad array of other species. That is reconciliation ecology. Many pilot projects...are demonstrating that it can be done.

Michael L. Rosenzweig, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 2003

Did you know nearly half of the oil used in the U.S. is for personal transportation? If everyone used 10% fewer gallons of gas, we in the U.S. could actually reduce our demand for oil and end our codependent relationship with Big Oil. We'd also reduce CO2 emissions and help prevent future ecological catastrophes.

So think twice before you drive, and start taking ten off the top today! Pass it on!